1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to mats and other covering devices for floors and the like, and more specifically to a protective device for capturing water, slush, winter road salt, etc. which drips or falls from a parked vehicle in the winter. The protector is placed on the floor of the garage, and includes multidirectional slopes to cause fluids to drain toward the center rear of the device, whereupon the fluids are drained from the garage by a removable gutter extending from the protector.
2. Description of the Related Art
Road salt, sand and gravel, slush, and snow are routinely encountered in winter driving at least from time to time throughout most of the United States, and in other areas of the world as well. Motor vehicles will routinely pick up several pounds of frozen or slushy debris in such conditions, and carry it beneath the vehicle (under the fenders, etc.) until the vehicle is parked and warms somewhat above freezing, whereupon the material will fall from the vehicle. Even in more temperate driving conditions, rain and heavy dew can cover a motor vehicle with sufficient moisture to cover a large level area, if the vehicle is left in an otherwise dry area.
The result can be an exceedingly sloppy mess, when the vehicle is parked in a household garage or other enclosed parking area. While some garage floors have been provided with a slope for drainage, this is certainly not a universal situation. Generally, such areas have relatively flat floors, and any liquid dripping from the vehicle tends to spread from the vicinity of the vehicle, when little or no slope for runoff is provided. Indeed, sufficient liquid can fall from the vehicle to produce a shallow but relatively large pool of water and other debris, which may spread to contaminate nearby articles resting upon the floor of the garage. This can be quite costly, depending upon the articles stored in the garage and the amount of slush and/or other moisture carried into the garage on the vehicle.
Accordingly, a need will be seen for a floor protector for a garage, for precluding liquid runoff from a vehicle from contacting the garage floor. The device is preferably formed of a hard plastic in order to withstand the weight of a motor vehicle driving over portions thereof. The device preferably has a shallow V-shaped slope descending from each side toward a central longitudinal channel, with the channel sloping downwardly toward the rear of the protector where liquids may drain from the central rear area of the device. A retractable gutter may be extended from the device to channel liquids from the central rear drain of the device. The protector may include four flat and level tire rests formed therein, serving as wheel chocks and positioning means for a vehicle parked thereon.
A discussion of the related art of which the present inventor is aware, and its differences and distinctions from the present invention, is provided below.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,246,982 issued on Jan. 27, 1981 to George Pretnick, titled "Car Ramp And Drip Pan Assembly," describes a ramp having a pair of parallel cleated tire tracks or ramps with a flat central channel therebetween. As the tire ramps extend laterally to the perimeter of the device, it appears that the sides of the vehicle would extend beyond the assembly to drip onto the floor or surface beyond the edge of the Pretnick assembly. Also, Pretnick provides a raised portion of his ramp extending completely across the rearward or entrance end of the device, thus precluding any drainage from that end. Instead, he provides a small drain at the forward end of the ramp assembly. This would not be suitable for use in a garage with no drainage facilities, which is the whole point of having such a device in a garage. Moreover, Pretnick does not provide any slope toward the drain in the assembly, whereas the present floor protector includes slopes for efficient runoff.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,266,378 issued on Nov. 30, 1993 to James Stephenson et al., titled "Wheel Positioning Garage Mat," describes a relatively small mat having a wheel chock formed at each end thereof. The device is only large enough to hold a single vehicle wheel thereon, and only a single one of the Stephenson et al. devices is placed at the parking spot for the vehicle in order for the vehicle to be positioned accurately by feel when parking. No liquid capture is disclosed by Stephenson et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,670 issued on May 3, 1994 to Steven S. Saylor, titled "Floor Cover With Raised Sides," describes a relatively thin and flexible vinyl sheet having elongate pockets formed along each edge. A section of rubber hose or the like is inserted into each pocket, to provide a raised edge. The sole advantage of the Saylor device appears to be its extremely simple and very inexpensive construction. The simple construction of the Saylor floor cover does not include any slope therein, nor does it include any means for positively positioning a vehicle thereon. Moreover, Saylor fails to provide any drainage means for his floor cover, thus making it extremely difficult to dispose of any runoff collected in the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,350,619 issued on Sep. 27, 1994 to Lars B. Rasmussen, titled "Mat For The Collection Of Liquid," describes a mat formed of a plurality of separate sections joined together by fixtures, unlike the unitary, monolithic construction of the present garage floor protector. The Rasmussen mat is raised above the underlying surface but the runoff gutters are permanently imbedded within the surface, thus making the edges of the mat higher than the center, which is opposite the configuration of the present floor protector. The present garage floor protector is portable, and may be installed in a garage without any requirement for modification of the floor for drainage gutters and the like, as is required for the Rasmussen mat. Rasmussen also fails to disclose any specific tire location points and a central drainage location, as are provided in the present garage floor protector.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,692 issued on Sep. 17, 1996 to Joe Zheng, titled "Dual Purpose Parking Pad," describes a relatively narrow pad for underlying only one side of the car, i. e., beneath the two wheels, fenders, and rocker panel of either the left or the right side of the vehicle. Zheng requires two of his devices for both sides of the car, and still leaves open the area beneath the central portion of the vehicle. Zheng states that the central portion of the vehicle will not deposit any fluids upon the underlying surface if the vehicle is in good condition, but this is not necessarily true. Spilled oil and fluids may still flow down the outer surface of the engine to the underlying surface during maintenance, and snow, slush, and ice are generally deposited beneath the entire vehicle in winter conditions. The present invention responds to this problem by protecting the entire floor area beneath and extending outwardly from the sides of the vehicle to some extent, unlike the Zheng device. Moreover, the only sloped portion of the Zheng mat is at the entrance lip, with the remainder of the device being flat and level and inhibiting runoff.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,626,933 issued on May 6, 1997 to Marcel Long, titled "Modular Floor Cover," describes a relatively thin, flat, ribbed mat material which is assembled from a plurality of sections by cooperating connector components which engage the ribs of the mat material. The above described construction does not provide for any form of slope of the surface of the assembly, to assist drainage. Moreover, no tire rest points are provided by the Long mat, for positively locating a vehicle thereon.
British Patent Publication No. 477,737 to Archibald L. Trigg and accepted on Jan. 5, 1938, titled "A Bath Mat," describes a mat constructed of numerous slats disposed in two layers, with each layer normal to the other. Gaps are provided between the slats, for drainage into an underlying tray. The multiple piece construction is unlike the unitary, monolithic form of the present garage floor protector, and no slope is provided by Trigg for his bath mat. As the Trigg device is intended as a bath mat, he does not provide any form of positive wheel or tire location means, as provided with the present garage floor protector. Such a bath mat would be unsuitable for use beneath a motor vehicle in any case, as the multiple slat construction would be crushed or at least deformed by the weight of the vehicle, and the device is entirely too small to protect the entire floor area beneath a vehicle.
Finally, British Patent Publication No. 2,065,469 published on Jul. 1, 1981 to Hiroyuki Tarui, titled "Shoe Scraper Mat," describes a mat with a rubber base and continuous perimeter walls, into which one or more scraper materials are inset. One embodiment includes two separate scraper portions. Tarui does not provide any form of tire rest or location means, as he does not intend his mat to be used beneath a motor vehicle. While Tarui does provide a raised edge, he does not provide any drain openings therefrom nor any slope to guide runoff to a specific area of the mat, as provided in the present garage floor protector.
None of the above inventions and patents, either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.